This is a 10 year question. Opiates-Suboxone

[icu2hiall]

Hey,,,
I started on 5/500 hydros 90 amonth 10 years ago. I quickly went to 7.5/500 and at about the 3 year point I was up to the leagle amount in my state of Texas. 240 10/325 this lasted for a year or year and half and that wonderfull DR added 15mg morhine to the mix, by the 7 year point I had a monthly prescriptions for. 240/325  norco 120mg ER morphine a day, 2-60s and 40mg of oxys.
Now I don't blame the Dr. I of course learned every lie in the book why I need more, more, more, this mess lasted for a year. I never missed a day in 8 years. Then I went to jail for 4 days. I got a DUI (valiums) I freaked ******* out. I crawled out of that jail when my bond finally got posted. I had my scripts in my car and I took 10 10s and 3 of the oxys right a way. An hour later I could finally think.
I have been thinking for 2 years. and I have got my self down to 2 of the 30mgER morp and 3 norcos a day. I can function on just the hydros if I have to. I have tried to quit twice on my own and at day 4 well you guys know I didnt make it
MY QUESTION is there anyone on here, that has been on as much for as long and has been able to REALLY quit with the Suboxone?  I have be honest. It brought tears man just thinking about. I have found a new dr and next month it will be 120 hydros 10/325 and not 180 and the month after 90  then 60 then 30 then the Suboxone. I have heard good,,,Great things. He said I would have to getto the 24 hour point then he would start me on the 8mg and that would feel good like right away. IS THAT TRUE??????  Names Jeff   Im nervous

[weaver71]

It's great you realize the importance of getting mentally prepared. Get vitamins, minerals, and amino acids and start taking them now. Drink lots of water and exercise as much as you can. With support and determination, you'll pull through. I can't even explain how different my wife and children view me. I may feel depressed and unmotivated and my kids will say, "At least you are here with us again." My kids whole personality have changed. Addiction is a family disease, and many of my character defects where growing in them. As I heal, so do they. It's really amazing to be clear headed enough to notice, even on the bad days. I found that my pain was less than I had thought, pills create pain after awhile. I stretch, do saunas, swim, and eat nutritious foods and my body seems to be producing natural pain killers again. I still have pain, but nothing like the days I ran low on pills. Sometimes I need ibuprofen, but rarely. You'll know when you're ready, but no drug will make it go away, only sobriety. Keep on keepin on, you won't regret it. Keep us posted.

[icu2hiall]

Yea, thats what I really want to do. CT it. Get prepared, pick a date and get it over with. I have really got to do some serious soul searching, because right now I dont if I can.
I do know I need to learn all the benefits of this site. A lot of good info.
I wanted to give every one a best answer just to say thanks. I can't do that. Wanted to say thanks to the two of you.
Family and friends are fed up with me and this habit. Are tired of talking about it. Some understand and some don't. Mainly my 17 year old son. You know one of my biggest worries are am I going to control the chronic pain.
Have good one fellas,

[Ben727]

Hi Jeff, I'm Ben. I did take as much as you do, give or take a bit. Let me tell you briefly about my own experience to provide some background: I never had a regular OC or morphine supply, but I would crank through about 300 10/325 HCs in a week or so. Well over 1000 per month. I did 50-60 a day for about three years, and did the ramp up thing starting about seven years before that (so about ten years on HC total). I only got 180/month from my doctor, the rest via text message to my leech (sorry, dealer). By the end, the doctor's supply was gone in a few days.

I chose to go cold turkey. I had two addiction doctors, one a therapist, the other an MD. They gave me great council. I did not find this site until day six, or I might have done a few things differently nutrition-wise. The only aid I had for CT was called clonodine. It did help me for a day or so, but I have very low blood pressure and the clonodine lowers blood pressure, so when I was hitting 65/40, I had to stop (I was passing out from lack of blood to the brain when I stood up). Most people have high blood pressure during WD, so I'm an unusual case.

Now to your question: Both my doctors told me to avoid suboxone if I could. They both (independently) encouraged me to go CT. I was extremely committed to quitting, and so far I have been about three months with no relapse. For me, I wanted the biggest slap in the face possible. WD was extremely hard, but I don't really thing about using without thinking about WD, so this seems to have worked for me. If I was the kind of person who could taper, I'd have tapered. I knew I couldn't. So, my advice to you (only my opinion based on similar experience, no substitute for professional advice) would be to taper if you can, avoid the suboxone if you can, and set yourself up with the best aftercare you can find. Take a look at the suboxone FAQ on the right-bottom. Talk to professionals if you can, go to NA if you can't (preferably both). And don't forget: You CAN do this! Post here often!

[weaver71]

If you get down to 10mg of hydro a day and stabalize, I think 8mg of subs would feel great, you'll be high like a mellow speed ball. I would just keep tapering the hydros and get to a 12 step meeting and/or counseling to deal with the adddiction. The withdrawal of subs is much longer than hydros. Think about this, 1mg of subs is similar to 40mg of morphine, so 8mg of subs is like 320mg of morphine. You would be going up in dosage rather than down. 10mg of hydro is like 15mg of morphine. People on subs say, "It's a miracle drug," people who have come off it say, "It's a last resort for people who can't taper other opiates." Read the suboxone/subutex FAQs at the bottom of this page, and really educate yourself, as doctors have pretty limited knowledge and experience with subs, they've been legal in the US since 2002.

[miserable_1736]

hey bud, i recently got off 4 30mg perc tabs a day every day for almost 2 years.(75 hours sober) MAKE sure that your doctor starts tapering on the subs sooner rather then later. ALSO, you have to stick to the exact amt the doc tells you to take. one slip up of taking too much more and the whole program could go down hill. we can do ANYthing we put our minds to man, the human will is a powerful thing.

best of luck